THE WORLD'S #1 POKER MANUAL - Card Games

Poker Book, Why Professionals Cheat
John Finn first encountered professional casino cheating in a large poker room of a major hotel
casino in downtown Las Vegas. The cheating involved the dealer, the cardroom manager, and his
friend--and was unusual because management was involved.[ 38 ]
Initially, John Finn was not suspicious of or looking for cheating patterns because (1) the game
was fairly low stakes $5-$10 high stud (although that was the highest-stake game in the cardroom
at the time), and (2) the cardroom manager was not only playing, but was sitting next to the
dealer. The game seemed safe from cheating.
Moving clockwise from the dealer's left sat (1) the cardroom manager, (2) a professional poker
player, who was also a friend of the manager, (3) a poor-playing tourist, (4) a regular player, (5)
[an empty seat], (6) an ex-poker dealer, (7) John Finn, and (8) a woman who was an off-duty
blackjack dealer.
Within an hour, newcomer John Finn was the biggest winner. He was playing aggressively,
winning heavily, and badly beating the other players--especially the woman player in seat 8, who
was playing poorly.
The manager and several other players seemed annoyed and confused over John Finn's
unorthodox and unpredictable play. After a shift change of dealers, the woman player switched to
empty seat 5. Two hands later, another tourist sat in empty seat 8. He found a loose card beside
John's elbow. The card apparently had slid under a napkin left by the woman player, and the
dealer never noticed the missing card. (Some dealers can feel when one card is missing by the bulk
and weight of the deck.) Several players glanced sharply at John as if they had discovered how he
was beating them. The manager left the table and returned moments later.
Before the next hand, a floorman brought two fresh decks of cards to the dealer. John Finn
became puzzled on noticing the cards were in a brown box bearing an orange-shield label from the
Normandie Club in Gardena, California. Two hands later, John maneuvered into a strong
position and was betting heavily. The manager beat him in a series of illogical but infallible calls
and bets that did not coincide with the manager's poker style or ability. Staring straight at John
Finn, he pushed the large pot to the woman player--the heavily-losing, off-duty blackjack dealer in
seat 5. She took the money without appearing grateful or surprised by the manager's "generous"
action.
Several hands later, John Finn again maneuvered into a strong and favorable position; he bet
heavily, but once more was beaten in a similar series of illogical calls and raises by the manager's
friend--the professional player. John became alert and suspicious. At first he thought his hole
cards were being flashed, especially since the professional player sat low in his seat. Trying to
counter that possibility, John was unsuccessful as he lost two more large pots to the manager, who
again won through a series of illogical but infallible moves. John then noticed a slight crimp in his
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